Newsletter

Editorial: The sounds of July 4

Those multicolored tents that have sprung up across Topeka and Shawnee County over the past week will be busy today as fireworks retailers begin selling things designed to explode nosily or burst in a colorful display of sparks, or both.

Independence Day is a week away, but the sights and sounds associated with the celebration of the holiday will be with us, at least in rural Shawnee County, for the next week.

We encourage everyone who makes fireworks a part of their Fourth of July celebration to do so legally and safely.

While fireworks retailers in the city and county can sell their wares from June 27 through July 5, fireworks cannot be discharged in Topeka until July 1. A city ordinance adopted in 2011 restricts the use of fireworks in Topeka to the hours of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on July 1, 2 and 3 and 8 a.m. to 11:59 p.m. July 4. The county allows the use of fireworks from 8 a.m. to midnight from June 27 through July 4, with the exception of the Montara Subdivision, where the legal hours coincide with Topeka’s regulations.

However, the right to use fireworks doesn’t include the right to be a nuisance. The Topeka City Council reduced to four the number of days on which fireworks could be discharged in the city limits in response, in part, to complaints from residents who objected to being exposed to a week, or more, of steady explosions throughout the day and night. Some residents also complained, understandably, about how the noise affected their pets.

Whether celebrants live in Topeka or rural Shawnee County, they should adhere to the legal discharge hours, which are generous, and also be aware of how their activity is being received by their neighbors, many of whom probably would prefer quiet at bedtime.

Fireworks should be used safely, meaning in accordance with instructions on the packaging, and never allowed to stray onto a neighbor’s property. Ending a Fourth of July celebration with a fireworks display has become a tradition, but it can be done without offending those not enamoured of the noise.

For people who enjoy watching fireworks but don’t want to deal the mess or hazards, the annual Spirit of Kansas festival at Lake Shawnee produces the best fireworks display in northeast Kansas. The display concludes a day of activities that offer something for almost everyone and is a fitting end to the holiday.